攀牙湾安达曼海的红树林，泰国 Mangrove forest in Phang Nga Bay, Andaman Sea, Thailand (© Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost/Getty Images)

攀牙湾安达曼海的红树林，泰国 Mangrove forest in Phang Nga Bay, Andaman Sea, Thailand (© Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost/Getty Images)

在热带，陆地与海洋热情相拥 In the tropics, land greets sea warmly

International Day of the Tropics

Only in the tropics do forests grow in salt water. Take this forest of mangrove trees in Phang Nga Bay in southern Thailand, one of the largest and best preserved mangrove forests in the country. Adapted to thrive in coastal marshes and swamps, mangroves can filter saltwater and withstand strong coastal storms. Virtually all mangrove forests and all species of mangrove grow only in the tropical regions of the world. They are protectors of the coastlines, acting as a buffer against storms and floods.

Today and on every June 29, we join the United Nations in marking the International Day of the Tropics, a moment to focus on the unique beauty of this region of the world and the challenges it faces. The tropics are roughly defined as the area above and below the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. By 2050, the UN estimates the tropics will be home to most of the humans on Earth, and two-thirds of the world's children. It is also the poorest part of our world and the most vulnerable to global warming.

Phang Nga Bay on the Andaman Sea is one of the most treasured and visited sites in Thailand. The south-facing bay is about 150 square miles in size, and contains numerous limestone islets, tower karsts, cliffs, caves, and lagoons. At its mouth is the tourist mecca of Phuket island. Much of the bay is protected as the Ao Phang Nga National Park, created in 1981 by royal decree. The most famous landmark in the park is probably Ko Tapu, a tall cylindrical rock that is narrower at its base than at its top. It was featured in the 1974 James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun,' and has since been dubbed 'James Bond Island.' The real star of Phang Nga, however, is the mangrove. Resilient, wondrous, and beautiful, mangroves are an apt metaphor for the tropics they inhabit.

国际热带日

只有在热带地区，森林才能在盐水中生长。以泰国南部攀牙湾的红树林为例，攀牙湾是泰国最大、保存最完好的红树林之一。红树林适应于在沿海沼泽和沼泽中生长，可以过滤海水，抵御强烈的沿海风暴。几乎所有红树林和所有红树林物种都只生长在世界热带地区。它们是海岸线的保护者，起着抵御风暴和洪水的缓冲作用。

今天和每年6月29日，我们与联合国一道纪念国际热带日，这是一个关注世界这一地区独特美景及其面临挑战的时刻。热带大致定义为北回归线和北回归线之间赤道上下的区域。联合国估计，到2050年，热带地区将成为地球上大多数人类和世界三分之二儿童的家园。它也是世界上最贫穷的地区，也是最容易受到全球变暖影响的地区。

安达曼海上的攀牙湾是泰国最珍贵的景点之一。朝南的海湾面积约150平方英里，包含许多石灰岩小岛、塔式岩溶、悬崖、洞穴和泻湖。河口是普吉岛的旅游圣地。该湾的大部分地区被保护为1981年根据皇家法令创建的敖攀牙国家公园。公园中最著名的地标可能是Ko Tapu，这是一种高大的圆柱形岩石，底部比顶部窄。它曾出现在1974年詹姆斯·邦德的电影《金枪侠》中，后来被称为“詹姆斯·邦德岛”然而，攀牙岛真正的明星是红树林。红树林富有弹性、奇妙而美丽，是它们所居住热带的恰当隐喻